Discourse on Colonialism

Aime Cesaire wrote Discourse On Colonialism in 1955. Cesaire takes a risky stance arguing against colonization and the by-products thats come along with it. Cesaire blames the poor relationship amongst colonizers and colonies on Europe. Europe does nothing more than colonize smaller nations and colonies to exploit them namely for financial purposes and also for their natural resources. Europe created two problems in Cesaire's words the Proletariat Problem and the Colony Problem. The Colonial problem is one rooted with diseased society, that there is no positive relationship. The largest problem in Colonization is that colonies are not advances once colonized. Furthermore the issue pertains around the fact the relationship is centered around, "forced labor, intimidation, pressure, the police, taxation, theft, rape, compulsory crops, contempt, mistrust, arrogance, self-complacency, swinishness, brainless elites, degraded masses." All of which problems are sure to set the local culture back a few steps.

The last remaining problem is the Proletariat Problem. This problem exist due to the racial nature of forced labor and colonization. With the racial nature slavery can be connected and compared with Colonization. Thus Cesaire concludes that colonization is a form of dehumanization. Europe has a fascination with dehumanizing minorities especially blacks in Cesaire's opinion. Cesaire writes in a unique perspective and uses the example of Hitler and the Jews and compares that with Europe and Colonization. In conclusion it was an interesting read with many important points brought to the forefront.

57% Irish

57% Irish is the story of a man who has been given the responsibilty of developing a test.  However, this is not just a simple test, this is a test to determine how "Irish" someone is. This test is to be used to determine who is Irish enough to stay, and who must be forced to leave.  This test is made up of many different components, and it measures how one responds to certain things that they are seeing.  The way they respond, according to the main charcater's original hypothesis, determines how Irish they are. 
The reason this story is called 57% Irish is because when the main character gave the test to a native Irishman, the man scored 57%. However, when the test was given to someone that was not of Irish decent, they scored a lot higher, which asked the question, is the test really legitimate, and can it be trusted? 
In the middle of this story of the test, there is a sub plot between the main character and his Russian girlfriend.  The main character has a child with his girlfriend which forces him to ponder the question, is the child Irish or not?  When it is determined that the child will most likely have to leave the country if its mom is found not to be "Irish" enough, the main character decides to take the child's fate into his own hands.  He ends up changing the test so his girlfriend, and more importantly their child, can stay in the country. 
So my main question that I have is this:

Do you believe the "Irish Test" was a good indicator of how "Irish" someone was, and whether they should be able to remain in the country or not?
If you do belive it was, how do you explain the foreigner getting a better score than the native Irishman?

Guess Who's Coming for Dinner

This short story entails a family man named Larry, who finds himself in a controversial situation. Larry comes from an Irish background and thinks his family is perfect until a certain situation comes upon him. His daughter Stephanie wants to date/bring home a black man and he doesn't necessarily approve. Larry's family frowns upon the idea that he isn't accepting of Stephanie's new crush and call him a "bigot". Larry doesn't approve of the interracial relationship but claims he isn't a racist. He goes on too prove why is this and makes a couple of interesting points. This isn't the complete story but it sparks a question. Is it racist if Larry doesn't approve of the interracial relationship his daughter is having? This is not something that only happens in the book but in real life as well. For an example ever since I was young my dad always said I would marry a beautiful arabic woman. Obviously now that I am older he mind who I married as long as I was in love. My dad might not see eye to eye at first, but my happiness would make up for all his doubts. What also must be accounted for is the old, conservative mentality. Maybe where Larry was brought up it interracial relationships werent common. The saying goes "People fear the unknown". Maybe now Larry's daughters will educate him more and his perspective black people will change. I guess this still doesnt answer the question, but maybe you guys can. Is Larry a racist? yes/no?

A Wife's Story

Like many of the other works we have read, A Wife's Story has the themes of gender, culture, and the American dream. Panna Bhatt is an Indian women who recently moved to Manhattan to get her degree in special education. She slowly adjusts to life in the states, but is still appalled at some aspects of American life.  She goes to see a play by Mannet, and is offended by the generalizations made about Indian culture and life during the play. She also comments afterwards on how she is not used to simple things like hugging a man or holding his hand in public; it would be frowned upon in India.
Eventually, her husband comes to visit her. He is amazed at American culture, goods, and people. After much shopping and sightseeing, her husband asks her to return to India with him. He does not like the way Panna is being treated by men in New York. Although, he ends up returning to India without her.
Which theme (gender, culture, or the idea of the American dream) is most prominent and important in this story and why?

Persepolis 247- End

This section of the novel begins with Marjane returning back to Iran. At this point so much has gone wrong in her life and she is actually relieved to go home. Marjane is extremely shocked about how much Iran has changed from what she was used to and she had to readjust yet again to a new life. All of these changes and stories that she hears from other people lead her into one of the darkest times of her life. Marjane become extremely depressed up to the point where she did not do anything. As time went on Marji began to recover and got into a school and became an aerobics instructor. Later on Marji met Reza, her future husband, and from there they had a good life until she realized she no longer loved him. Towards the end of the novel Marji is happy to be leaving Iran. That is not the life she is used after living in Austria and experiencing freedom. In this part of the novel the reader can see that Marji is really trying hard to make a good life for herself and actually find herself. She goes to France to pursue her dreams and finally put her education to good use Marjane is also more aware of all that her parents went through for her to live a better life and so she is finally taking the initiative to do what her parents want for her. No matter where Marji goes, she will always have a part of herself in Iran and that is something that will never change.

Persepolis P.197-246

In this section of the book, we continue to see Marjane loose her innocence when she starts staying in a communal apartment with eight homosexual men. Her mother surprises her by calling to say she is coming to visit. Marjane spends time with her mother and, because her apartment is only hers for a short  amount of time, she finds a new place to stay, a room in the house of Frau Dr. Heller. She continues to get involved in drugs after she finds out her current boyfriend is gay. After she finds this out she confides in her physics teacher to process her thoughts. 
     She meets a new boy named Markus and forms a relationship with him, however, no one  is in approval about this relationship. Marjane gets Markus involved in drugs as well, and gains the title Drug dealer.  She feels upset and ashamed that her actions of rebellion have gone this far. Why do you think that she is constantly rebelling? How has her loss of innosance played a role in her rebellion?
      As this section continues we learn that her life is a struggle, being away from her parents with lack of money. Alot of people in her knew area seem to not like her because of her name as a drug dealer(her principal). Later on she finds out that her current boyfriend is cheating on her and is very hurt by this. Her struggles continues with no money and no place to stay because Dr. Heller and Marjane get into a fight. She lives on the street for two months and gets very sick. She later learns that her parents have been trying to contact her for the past two months that she has been living on the street. Her life in this new area has gone downhill. She returns to Iran with her parents at the end of this section. How has being away from her parents in a new place changed Marjane as a person, and a kid? Do you think that everything she is going through and has been through as a child has made her a stronger person, or affected her negatively?

Persepolis 73-134

In Persepolis, the war has just started and it's already causing chaos in the population. The protest demonstrations soon got out of hand when things got physical. Men were beating protesters with bats over fundamentalism. Even though Marjane and her parents took a vacation from the madness of Iran to Spain, things worsened. Ever since the U.S. embassy was occupied, the country has lost control. Women were fighting over simple groceries, gas shortages made it impossible to even take a simple drive to a restaurant for dinner, and now they have involved the kids in the war. The boys were brainwashed by the government with the keys they recieved. As Shabab said, they were "convinced that the afterlife is even better than disneyland ." But the image on page 102 doesn't look the part. How do you think the war has affected Iran's society?

Can we also recognize how awesome Marjane's dad is in this panel:

Persepolis pg.134-197

Like most people, Marji just wants to fit-in but she also doesn't want to forget where she has come from. In these pages, Marji changes a great deal. From a naive child to a rebellious pre-teen into a confused and lost teenager. Marji has suffered the loss of a friend, being kicked out of school twice and thrown into a new culture. Though, her father was proud of her rebellious nature, her mother wasn't. To protect her, Marij's parents decided to send her to Austria to live with Zozo. At first, Marji is okay with the idea of being independent; however, Marji feels trapped because of the promise she made with her parents and her grandmother's advice from before she left for Austria. Throughout her time in Austria, Marji was relocated to a boarding school run by nuns and isolated. She had no friends and was the butt of everyone's joke, but she had good grades. As time passes, Marji makes 4 new friends and becomes close with the family of her roommate. She slowly begins to assimilate into the new culture and accept her new life in Austria, when she is thrown into a loop by the stereotypical comment made by one of the nuns, that gets Marji kicked out of school. Marji finds asylum with Julie. Julie is one of Marji's new friends, who is a little older and more mature.

I felt that when she first started living with Julie, she hadn't fully forgotten of her past life. An example is how, Marji notices the small aspects of this culture and compared them to the ones of her own. Marji, in a sense,  loses her innocence when living with Julie. In the remaining pages, Marji physically matures into a teenage but is mentally trapped in the mindset of her younger self. She tries to forget who she is and she longs to erase her past, since she felt guilty of not keeping her parents that she made with her parents. I thought that Marji felt guilty because she wanted to forget who she was but at the same stay true to herself, her family and her culture. Her problem was that she didn't know how. And so, she let the words of her grandmother physically tie her down and mentally block her from understanding the true meaning of what her grandmother meant. It took her feeling small and belittled to stand up for herself and keep her dignity intact. It was in this moment Marji realized who she really was and that it was time to take pride in it.

I can completely relate to the situation that Marji experiences in these pages. I, too, moved from my home country of Haiti at a very young age. I was placed into a new culture and expected to assimilate but I loved my culture, since it was all I knew, and didn't want to forget where I came from. I remember having once pretended that I wasn't Haitian to fit in, I said I was English. Many people believed me because they already thought I had an English accent and so I went with it. I also didn't take to kindly to things that were said about the people of the Haitian culture. It took, my Junior year History teacher's stupid and alleged comment about Haitians being so poor that they were forced and reduced to eating mud pies made with butter and salt. As a means of survival. And that our official religion was Voodoo. His ignorance caused me to get suspended. it was in this moment that I realized that I had to take a stand and set the record straight. And now I can proudly say that I am Haitian.

Persepolis pt.1

Persepolis is a graphic novel about a young Iranian girl named Marjane. Marjane lives in Iran during the Iranian War in 1970. There are many themes throughout the first part, such as coming of age, identity, rebellion, family, and faith. The Veil is about how Marjane's identity was concealed by her veil from the War. The Bicycle is about Marjane's perspectives on revolution. The Water Cell is about Marjane learning about her Grandfather. Persepolis is about Marjane learning more about the War that is going on. The Letter is about Marjane and her Nanny/Maid becoming "sisters." Mehri fell in love with a neighbor, but could not pursue her love for him because of the social class she was born into. The Party is about the celebration of the end of the Shah's reign. The Heroes is about Marjane's family's friends being liberated from prison and talking about their torture. Moscow is about Marjane idolizing her uncle and thinking of him as a hero. The Sheep is about the former prisoners being executed, along with Marjane's idol, Anoosh. The first part ends with the start of the war, a bomb.

Persepolis is a story told by illustrations. I think the way this book is told has a great impact on the story.
Why do you think Marjane Satrapi chose to tell this story as a graphic novel and how does it impact the story? 

Persepolis

Throughout the graphic novel of Persepolis, there seems to be false information circling about. In other words propaganda, the author Marjane Satrapi specifically says in the book, "God did not choose the king... He did so! It's written on the first page of our school book." In Iran they were forced to believed that their leader the shah was chosen by God and therefore anything he says has to be follwed. So far this seems to be the central theme of the novel realizing that all the information learned in schools might be forced upon the students, so that when they get older they don't question the rule of the shah. Throught the reading it is present that the author does not quite believe her religion is treating its followers , but however still follows as a result of the shah. This novel proves how we can be decieved and be blind follwers to those we call our leaders.

Group Discussion Leading

You have a date assigned to you (and your group) for Group Discussion Leading of Persepolis. We'll be spending the next few weeks on Satrapi's novel. At the beginning of each class, the group assigned to that day will start our discussion off with questions.

Each member of the group should have 2 or 3 questions. You should talk about the theme or idea you are introducing first, then ask the question. Remember this is discussion leading, so if no one responds in the class, you should be able to lead the class to the point!

For the question, you should have a page number that you can refer to in the text. You can also incorporate outside research if you want including websites, critical articles or nothing at all and just your brains! You are also welcome to incorporate other peers' comments from the blog.

Each member should lead the class for about 5-7 minutes, I would say. Remember it's just discussion . . . lead us to what's most fun and interesting for you in the text!

Make sure you communicate with your group members, so that you do not work on the exact passage, etc.

The House on Mango Street

Throughout this novel we can see Esperanza’s struggle with her ethnicity, gender, and sexuality which all ties into her ultimate search for identity. In the second half of the book Esperanza talks about her friends, Minerva and Sally and she realizes through them what she doesn’t want to be. Minerva is only a little bit older than Esperanza but she already has two children and a husband who always leaves. Sally is not even in the eighth grade yet when she gets married and lives in a house with her husband. Although Esperanza dreams of moving out of Mango Street and into a new house, she doesn’t want it to be a “man’s house”. She wants a house of her own and unlike Sally, she will make sure she’s free to do whatever she wants without fear of angering a man. Esperanza clearly values her independence but when she gets sexually assaulted, she loses a piece of it. She is confused about her sexuality and doesn’t know how to react when she gets raped so she blames Sally and all the magazines and books for lying to her about the experience. We can also see Esperanza’s internal struggle when she calls herself the “ugly daughter”. She knows she’s not like other girls in the neighborhood because boys don’t pay attention to her. Although she feels unattractive and unwanted, she creates her own “quiet war” which involves acting in an unrestricted and carefree manner.

The House on Mango Street

Throughout the book one major theme is self-definition.  Esperanza is a young girl who is trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be.  She is surrounded with women who feel trapped and are abused whether it is from their father or husband.  Hearing all of these stories about these women makes Esperanza realize she does not want that for herself.  In this novel, we see Esperanza going through many phases of life and experimenting with different things as she is starting to mature.  With Esperanza being sexually assaulted and watching the lives of the older women in her neighborhood, she wants to do whatever it takes to leave Mango Street. At the end of the novel, it is interesting to see how much she has matured.  Esperanza realizes that her dream home is not a flat or an apartment, but in fact a house of her own.  Esperanza wants to feel independent and not have to end up trapped like many of the women in her neighborhood are.  My favorite part of the novel was the very end. Esperanza says that she will someday leave Mango Street, but she knows that she must come back for the rest of the women who can’t get out.

               

The House on Mango Street

The House on Mango Street is about a little girl named Esperanza who dreams about having the American Dream. When she was young all she did was move from place to place, always talking about her family's dream of getting a new house. Since she was constantly moving, she didn't really know what the definition of "home" was, and she knew that she didn't want the home she used to have previously. She wanted the house in America, the stereotypical cute little neighborhood house, and she kept promising her mother about the house they were going to get. It represented hope for her, but Esperanza's dreams of getting the American Dream failed her. She thought everything she wanted and dreamed of was in America, but all she did was move with no improvement to her dream. Because she dreamed the American Dream, she learns about who she doesn't want to be and becomes more independent. She is very keen to gender roles, and with the observation she makes she finds her identity and matures throughout the book.

The House On Mango Street

The House On Mango Street is a book written through the perspective of a little girl. Her family is not very well off, but they dream to someday be in a gorgeous house. They move from Loomis, a building where the landlord refused to fix broken water pipes, however The House On Mango Street is not a big upgrade. It is located in a bad neighborhood and is very small. Esperanza is aware of her circumstances and at times is ashamed of them. As the story goes on we get to see many scenarios from the standpoint of a little girl in the ghetto. She gives brief descriptions of the people around her. However, when it comes to describing herself we find out that she does not want to be confined to a boring life in the house, like the grandmother whom she is named after. The book is interesting and the excerpts being short make them easy to read, while simultaneously have the reader wanting more.

Awesome Work!

You guys are doing an incredible job writing this blog! Keep it up!

The Importance of Being Earnest Act 3

All I have to say after finishing act 3 is wow. Really didn't see that twist coming. First, the act begins with Gwendolen and Cecily questioning whether they are going to forgive Jack and Algernon for lying about them being brothers and Ernest being Jack's name. Algernon and Jack then use the excuse that they did it in order for Jack to see Gwendolen and for Algernon to see Cecily as mouch as they can. So the two ladies buy the excuse and forgive them. But then Lady Bracknell refuses to give her blessing for Jack and Gwendolen's union. Right when Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen are about to leave, Miss Prism is questioned by Lady Bracknell about a lost baby from twenty eight years ago. We learn that this lost baby that was found at a rail station turned out to be Jack, which turns out to be Lady Bracknell's sister's son making Algernon and Jack brothers after all. Then we find out that Jack's name is in fact Ernest, named after his father, and they he's been telling the truth about his name and his relationship with Algernon for years! Crazy twist in the end but one other thing comes from it... Jack and Gwendolen are now first cousins that are engaged....

The Importance of Being Earnest Act 1

Oscar Wilde composed the comical play, "The Importance of Being Earnest" during the Victorian times. The two main characters in "The Importance of Being Earnest" are Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff. Jack Worthing lived in the countryside of Hertfordshire, England. There he was the legal guardian of a girl named Cecily Cardew. They also lived with her governess, Miss Prism. He often went to the visit his friend Algernon at his flat in London. 

"The Importance of Being Earnest" portrays the double life of people, back in the Victorian time period. Here, people often were very secretive and liked to keep their public life separate from their private one. Jack Worthing pretended to have a maniac brother named Earnest Worthing in London, as an excuse to visit the city. However, when he goes to London, he would go upon by the name Earnest Worthing. Back in those times, Earnest was a respectable name and every woman would dream of marrying someone by that name. He would go to Algergon's flat to see his cousin, Gwendolen. They were both in love with each other, but she was more in love with him, due to the fact that his name was Earnest. If Gwendolen accepted the proposal, he would kill off his brother. Lady Bracknell was not in agreement with the proposal because she found out that Jack was found in a suitcase and didn't have any parents. Algernon called this double life, "bunburying". He knew that Jack was lying and wanted to find out more information of where he lives in the countryside, so he can go pursue Jack's ward, Cecily. He heard that she was fond of Jack's imaginary brother so he wanted to pass as him.

This play also has a bit of sexuality. In the first scene, where Algernon suspected Jack of eating the cucumber sandwiches he made for his aunt, he says "Well, my dear fellow, you need not eat as if you were going to eat it all. You behave as if you were married to her already, and you're not, and I don't think you'll ever be." This is a way of telling him to keep his hands off Gwendolen. 

The Goblin Market

The Goblin Market is a poem about two sisters Lizzie and Laura. At night there are little goblin men that sing a song to get people to buy their fruit. Lizzie is not interested in their fruit and stays away from them whenever they come out. She warns her sister Laura to stay away from them too. One of Lizzie’s friends ate their fruit and lived a horrible and died at an early age. Laura ignores her sister’s warning and trades a lock of her hair for some of the goblin’s fruit. After Laura eats the fruit she begins to have intense cravings for the fruit. At night she waits for the goblins to come out again but she can no longer hear their song, but Lizzie can. The causes Laura to be depressed and she no longer fulfills her daily responsibilities and prematurely ages. Lizzie is deeply saddened by her sister’s current state. She creates a plan to buy fruit from the goblins to bring them back to Laura so she can return to normal. After Lizzie pays the goblins for the fruit they try to convince her to stay with them and eat the fruit. When she refuses to eat the fruit the goblins become angry and attack her. They held her hands and tried to force her to eat the fruit. They we unable to get her to eat it but managed to cover her in the juices of the fruit. The goblins then retreat and Lizzie goes home. Once she sees Laura she tells her to consume the fruit juices that covered her. Laura does and then she returns to normal. Lizzie and Laura both grow up and become mothers. At the end of the story Laura tells her children how her sister saved her. I feel that this story demonstrates how a someone’s family  would be willing to do anything to save them , even if it  includes risking their own lives .

The Goblin Market and The Defence of Guenevere

The "Goblin Market" is a poem by Christina Rossetti, about two maids named Lizzie and Laura. Laura is tempted by the goblins whom sell all sorts of delicious fruits and call out, "Come buy our orchard fruits, come buy, come buy." One day, despite Lizzie's warning against the goblins, Laura exchanges a lock of her golden hair for the fruits and eats them all as if they were the most amazing she's ever eaten. After devouring the luscious fruits, Laura sleeps till the next morning only to crave for more fruit. She searches for the goblin's again but she ends up never finding them or hearing their simple cry, and also getting sick in the process. Lizzie feels sympathetic so she goes to find the goblins for the fruit that they bear. Resisting the goblin's temptation, Lizzie makes the goblin's so mad that they throw the fruits at her. With fruit juice all over her, she runs to Laura so that Laura can kiss the juice off her cheeks and miraculously recover. In the end, Lizzie and Laura are both married and eventually share the story of the goblin's with their own children.

"The Defence of Guenevere" is another poem created by William Morris. This poem actually refers to the legendary story of King Arthur with Guenevere(Guinevere). In this poem, the narrator is Guenevere  who is on trial for committing adultery. Gauwaine, one of King Arthur's trusted knights, is the prosecutor of the trial and is accusing her of sleeping with Launcelot. Guenevere often denies the accusation and repeats the lines, "nevertheless you, O Sir Gauwaine, lie," very often. She uses her beauty as a defense and says that her beauty alone should show her innocence of this trial. In the end, Launcelot comes in to rescue her and when he does, "her cheek [grows] crimson."

These poems have a lot of similarities in the sense that the theme of both is temptation. Both poems closely relate to the story of Adam and Eve, in which Eve was tempted by the serpent into taking the apple from the tree. Similarly, Laura is tempted by the goblins into taking their fruit and when Guenevere is lured into choosing hell's blue colored cloth.

At the end of "The Defence of Guenevere," Launcelot finally comes to rescue Guenevere and when he does, she starts blushing like crazy. Does this prove that she does actually love him? That she was drawn by lust and seduction? Was she right about the fact that it's hard to tell right from wrong? I think so. Yet I think that even if we are tempted, we also have the willpower to say no. So allurement should not be used as an excuse for what she did. She probably does regret the fact that she cheated on King Arthur, but instead of owning up to her mistake she blames her beauty for everything. She is of arrogance and self-pity, which makes me support Gauwaine.

At the end of "Goblin Market," Lizzie and Laura live to tell the goblin tale to their children. I think they told their kids so that their kids can hopefully learn from their mistakes and to think twice before doing something. It's almost like the saying, "never take candy from a stranger," that is often told to kids as a warning to be careful. Lizzie and Laura learn to be careful in choosing which path to take, and to lean on each other throughout any difficult situation.

Yes, we all make mistakes and get easily drawn into the evils of the world. Instead of taking the right path, we take the path that easily attracts us. It's true that there are many times we will be tempted in our life, but that's what makes us wholly human. Honestly, all we can really do is learn from the mistakes and try to gain strength to resist walking towards that wrong path or choosing the blue cloth.

Story of an Hour

Mrs. Mallard, a frail woman in an emotion sense, ultimately dies of "joy." As we look into the context of this short text, we begin to discover Mrs.Mallard's sense of entrapment; she feels trapped by everything and everyone around her, and the moment she finds out about her husband's death, a sudden sense of enlightenment rushes through her veins. It is not a rush of excitement, but a rush of thought and wonder; wonder as to what could be beyond this sort of trap she's been living in, a wonder so far out of her reach the only sort of freedom she actually has are the windows and the doors. But knowingly she cannot get herself to go through these objects of freedom, and instead is trapped in a state of constantly wanting to please her husband before herself, and this ultimately causes the death she suffers from said "joy." Is it really the joy that we all come to know and want though? Or is it merely a figment of her imagination to actually experience a certain type of joy that will bring one step closer to enduring this freedom she's never had the chance to experience. Mrs. Mallard's death in a sense can be considered an untimely death based on her lack of freedom; hearing of her husband's death gave her an hour to think about the freedom she could have, but this hour is torn short the moment her husband shows up at the door and x's out all opportunities of her ever being free to explore everything beyond her eyes. Unfortunately her freedom was short lived, but in a way I can say that her death would have been better than a life of entrapment behind four walls trying to please a man she loves, or for that matter, doesn't love, rather than sit there and wonder what could have been. 

The Story Of The Hour

                   In my senior year in high school, i read this short story because we were reading the awakening by Kate Chopin, and it contained this story in it. This short story is about a woman called mrs.mallard who got news of her husband passing away. Instead of this being a story of grief and dealing with the death of someone you're supposed to love dearly, it is a story of a woman who is finally free. The truth of the matter is, that this woman was not happy with her husband. Right away, she accepted the fact that he was dead, and wept immediately which isn't typical behavior. As she was in her room, gazing out the window she noticed the "new spring life" which is a symbol for the start of her new life as a free woman. The "patches of blue sky showing here and there" can be a symbol for her inner self trying to make it's way through. When she whispered the words "free, free, free!" that was her inner life talking. A life she never let out, but was what she always secretly wanted. It seems like she was trapped in her marriage, like she wasn't happy and only stayed with him because it was the right thing to do at the time which makes sense because this story was written in 1864.

                Something powerful that she says is "she would live for herself". This is powerful because it means that she wasn't living for herself before. She feels liberated and even says that "she had loved him-sometimes, often she had not" She was truly not happy. Hearing of her husbands death, caused her not grief, but relief, the complete opposite. Instead of her being in complete shock and resistant to accept, she was more than willing to accept because she looked forward to being free. That open window, is her new life. Her husbands death opened a window of freedom for her. Now instead of her wishing life wasn't long, she longed and prayed for a long life where she could enjoy days for herself.

            The ending was something unexpected. After she finally gives in to her inner desires, she comes face to face with the brutal reality that crushed her freedom. Instead of being full of joy that her husband is indeed alive, it brings an end to the feelings she was beginning to have. Its kind of ironic, you would think that she died of heart disease- of joy that kills when really she died because she could no longer be free or live her days for herself.
                 

Blog Dates

In case you forget your blog date: You are responsible for the main post on the date/reading assigned to you. It should be posted before coming to class. Everyone else must respond to their peers (one of the main posts) weekly. September 10 Chopin - Lina & Karina September 13 Goblin Market and The Defence of Guenevere - Melanie Morgan & Celena September 17 - The Importance of Being Earnest - Jessica September 20 - The Importance of Being Earnest - Eddie October 1 - The House on Mango Street - Arissa & Justin October 4 - The House on Mango Street - Israa & Katie October 8 - Persepolis - Melanie H & Mark October 11 - Persepolis - Luke & Sonya October 15 - Persepolis - Katrina & Gerida October 18 - Persepolis - Inisha October 22 - Persepolis - Sara October 25 - A Wife's Story - Malory & Jessica November 8 - Yeats' and Boland Poetry - Kevin November 12 - Doyle - Samer November 15 - Doyle - Dakota November 19 - Cesaire - (no one) November 22 - Fanon - Brian

The Myth of Sisyphus

If you haven't read or researched Albert Camus (1913-60) before, here's a bit of info about him. Camus was a writer and philosopher or we can say he was a writer that was very interested in philosophy. He was specifically interested in Existentialism. His writings explore and question existence. Many of his characters realize that life has no meaning and the only meaning life has, is the one we give to it.

Sisyphus, our absurd hero ( he sees life as a constant struggle - there is no hope), rolls a boulder up a hill forever. That's his life. Over and over. He pushes the boulder up, at the top he lets it go, and then he watches it roll down to the bottom. He walks to the bottom, and repeats. Pretty painful. Or is it not?

Camus is asking us to think differently about Sisyphus' eternal punishment. We are supposed to "imagine" him happy. Why? Camus tells us, "Happiness and the absurd are two sons of the same earth. They are inseparable." Sisyphus becomes "superior to his fate. He is stronger than his rock." What is Camus asking us to think about? Is Sisyphus a hero after all? How can he ever be happy?

Welcome to Literature in a Global Context! This is where we will discuss our readings, thoughts and ideas before coming to class! Each week 1 - 2 students will post there own formal post about the reading of that week. Everyone else will respond to the post.

At the end of the semester, we can look back at the posts and see how our understanding of the texts and themes change.

I'll post the first major post on "The Myth of Sisyphus."